An Acts 2 Church - Worshiping

An Acts 2 Church - Worshiping We have been learning from the church in Acts 2. That early church worshiped. What is worship? How did the Acts 2 church express their worship? How should we worship? The account in Acts 2 is brief. Listen to verses 42, 46, and 47. "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ... Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Let us begin with defining worship in several ways. Worship is expressing our love and reverence toward God. It is a balance of adoration and awe. Worship is responding appropriately to God's love, grace, and holiness. Worship is entering into God's presence for the purpose of giving Him honor and glory, doing so either privately or corporately. Worship is humbly submitting oneself to serve God for His glory. Worship is given to God in our attitudes, thoughts, feelings, and actions. The Acts 2 church gathered to worship. They gathered to learn the apostles' teaching. Learning of the nature of God and of the work of Christ demands a response of worship. They gathered to have fellowship which encourages worship of our common Lord. They gathered to break bread. Christian worship includes communion as a key element. They gathered to pray. Prayer includes thanksgiving, praise, and other worship. Corporate worship was a way of life every day. In the temple courts they met as a large group primarily for prayer and worship. They likely included preaching and singing. They also met in smaller, more intimate gatherings in the homes where they had fellowship and discussion over a meal. They likely sang together. After the meal, they broke bread together in communion with their Lord. Why should Christians gather together for worship? Could we not worship God in private? First, coming together to worship is a public witness of our faith in Jesus. We are not showing off individual piety but honoring our Lord before the community. Second, private worship will flow from our corporate worship experience. A person who does not join with others to glorify God is less likely to actually worship in private. Yet at the same time, corporate worship is fed by our private times with God. We need both. Finally, communion is central to Christian worship and is to be taken together as a body. So, we need to come together for worship. "They devoted themselves ... to the breaking of bread." Let us discuss communion further. In New Testament times, at meals, bread was broken, not cut, for distribution. This breaking was part of Jesus's act when He instituted communion. Jesus took bread and blessed it, giving thanks. He then broke it and distributed it. Jesus gave this bread meaning, saying, "This is My body, which is for you." He then commanded, "Do this in remembrance of Me." The early church held love feasts called "the Agape." These were fellowship meals in homes ending with communion, the breaking of bread. This was the pattern of the church mentioned in Acts 2:46. It was later discontinued because of frequent abuse like that mentioned in 1 Corinthians 11 and was replaced with just communion during church services. The agape feasts are still proper, but this was never commanded and are not required. Churches vary greatly in how often communion is served. This ranges from weekly or sometimes daily to four times a year or even less. Jesus set no rule here. Speaking of the cup of communion, He simply said, "Whenever you drink it." Acts 2 implies a high frequency at first, probably daily for at least some people. We need to balance our need for frequent reminders of what Jesus has done for us with the danger of frequency making it just a routine ritual done without much thought. Personally, I find monthly a good balance, but that is neither right nor wrong. The important point is that communion should be worship. We are to do it in remembrance of Jesus. It is an object lesson to remind us of the sacrifice of Jesus for us. It is taking time to pause and remember and to honor Jesus for all He has done. We are to take time to thank Jesus personally in the fellowship of others. It is fellowship with Jesus. Communion = fellowship, those are both meanings of the Greek word, koinonia. We personally receive the benefits of Jesus's death for each of us. We deliberately give thanks for His sacrifice for us just as He gave thanks the evening before He died. In communion, we worship by turning our thoughts to Jesus and His sacrifice for us. We worship by having an attitude of gratitude for our salvation. We worship by feeling humbled by His grace. We worship by an act of worship designed by God Himself, submitting to His way of worship. So, let us worship together. Be in your church the next time communion is served and take part as an act of worship. Be in church and worship with others in praise, song, prayer, and receiving God's word. And worship God alone with Him and your Bible. Be devoted to the worship of our great God and Savior. Trust in Jesus and exalt Him.